


Heart of Stone

by WayWardWonderer



Category: Ghostbusters (Movies 1984-1989)
Genre: Attack, Destruction, Doom, Gen, Hurt, Omen - Freeform, Specter, ancient, city, curse, dying, ghost - Freeform, injured, running out of time, spell, stone - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-31
Updated: 2017-08-31
Packaged: 2018-12-22 01:05:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11956479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WayWardWonderer/pseuds/WayWardWonderer
Summary: A ghost casts a powerful spell over the city. The four Ghostbusters escape the attack but are left alone to find a way to heal the heavily afflicted, lifeless city. Enduring their own injuries for the sake of others the four intrepid heroes must save the millions of citizens of New York City before the damage becomes permanent.





	Heart of Stone

A throbbing pain in his right side was all Dr. Egon Spengler could feel as the waking world slowly returned to his tired, foggy mind. Futilely Egon tried to lift his head as he laid flat on his back but the effort was in vain. Feeling too weak, too tired to attempt to move he kept as still as possible as he tried to regain his physical strength while trying to piece together his memory of the events that transpired before darkness overtook his mind.

The last thing Egon could remember was a painfully loud explosion and hearing a voice while he and the other Ghostbusters were tracking down an elusive specter in the abandoned subway tunnels...

Tracking the ghost through the subway had been a difficult task, but not impossible. Dr. Raymond "Ray" Stantz took the lead with a PKE meter, walking down the old tracks with Dr. Peter Venkman, Winston Zeddemore and Egon himself following close behind. The lengthy dark tracks were illuminated only by the four flashlights in the skilled hands of the intrepid Ghostbusters.

"I think it's down the Western tunnel." Ray pointed into the expansive darkness with the PKE meter. "But since this tunnel loops back around we should split up. Two go down the Western tunnel and the other two go down the Eastern tunnel."

"Loops around?" Peter asked with an arched eyebrow. "Just in case the engineer gets lost and needs to make a turn?"

Ray gave an amused glance. "For maintenance Peter. Now, I'll head this way with Egon-"

"And Winston and me will go the other way." Peter finished Ray's sentence dismissively. "Alright, alright. Come on Zed, the sooner we catch this ghost the sooner we can get out of this dank tunnel."

"Lead the way!" Winston followed Peter down the Eastern tunnel with his flashlight trained at the ground while Peter's light shone on the ceiling of the tunnel overhead. "I hate being underground."

"You and me both!" Peter chimed in as the duo disappeared down the tunnel together.

Ray and Egon practically mirrored the motions of Peter and Winston as they used their flashlights to illuminate the ground and ceiling. The sound of dirt, stone and old metal crunching beneath heavy boots echoed with each footstep down the tunnels.

"Let's see," Ray focused the PKE meter toward the far end of the tunnel. "we should run into the ghost before we run into Peter and Winston. If not then I think we'll have to call this bust a bust."

"I sincerely hope we will not waste our time exploring the bacteria riddled underground without leaving with some modicum of data to analyze."

"Yeah, we need all the data we can get." Ray agreed anxiously. "You know it's been a while since-"

A loud rumble in the tunnels caused Ray and Egon to stop midstep along the dark track. Old bits on concrete, brick and dust floated downward in a wispy cloud.

"What was that?" Ray asked as he pointed his light straight up at the ceiling and watched the dust dance about in the bright beam. "That come from above us for sure."

"It's not a passing train." Egon confirmed. "It was a singular eruption that-"

A second rumble twice as loud and twice as violent shook the entirety of the tunnel causing both Ray and Egon to lose their balance and fall to the tracks. They dropped their flashlights as they fell, one of which broke upon impact with the metal track.

"Spengler!" Ray shouted over the thunderous noise as he struggled to keep track of his colleague.

The ground beneath the track began t buckle as the violent tremor continued to rock through the underground passages. The neglected ground began to divot and erode as the relentless shaking against the steel and concrete was merciless against the dilapidated ground.

"Ray?" Egon yelled as loud as possible as he tried to brace himself up against the smooth wall of the tunnel, only to feel his leg sink into the ground. "Ray!"

A massive explosion shook the tunnels in a catastrophic burst of energy, heat, smoke and light.

"Egon!" Ray looked to where he last saw his friend with the single flashlight only to see a figure disappear into a newly formed hole in the ground. "Egon?!"

As Egon fell through the ground the violent shaking of the tunnels continued on and heavily damaged the subway tunnels in the process. Landing hard on his side on the ground in a large opening beneath the tunnel Egon saw bright flashes as pain seared into his side and a heavy impact on top of his body knocked the wind from his lungs; leaving his breathless and unconscious in the darkness.

The faint voice of Ray calling out for him was the last sound Egon heard before he fell into a deep unconsciousness.

The nearly unbearable pain that ached in Egon's side flared and brought him out of his thoughts and back into reality. Still unable to lift his head or open his eyes Egon used his other senses to try and identify his current environment.

Cold. Egon knew he was severely injured from the incredible amount of pain he was experiencing, but being so cold was indicative of significant blood loss. His whole body was cold, save for the burning pain in his side, and there was a firm pressure on his back.

A table? Or perhaps a bench.

It was quiet with only the faintest echo of water dripping down into a growing puddle in an unseen distance.

The air was still and smelled of smoke and dust.

The tunnel. Egon was still somewhere inside the tunnel.

Egon's fingertips fluttered as he regained enough strength and awareness to move his hands. Using his left hand Egon lightly pressed his fingers against his injured side and was startled to discover that there was something already pressed against the raw wound. Rather than pressing into a bloodied injury his fingers felt the warm, soft fabric of something wrapped over his injury. His jumpsuit was removed from his chest and arms, the were sleeves tied around his waist. The black t-shirt beneath was tattered and full of holes, the lower hem pulled up to expose the white bandages wrapped around his side.

Bandages. Someone had found Egon, they had helped him. He wasn't alone.

Partially opening his eyes Egon found himself staring at the dirty ceiling and a single dim light swinging from the ceiling over his head. Without his glasses he could only see so far before everything was a single blur.

Egon was laying on his back on a bench inside some small metal compartment.

The sound of a large metal door being slid open caught Egon's attention. He couldn't see anyone approaching but he could hear the heavy thuds of boots marching ever closer to his direction.

Watching the figure approach Egon kept silent and waited patiently.

A strong hand rested on his chest as the figure knelt down beside Egon. Egon's vision, though hindered from the loss of his glasses, steadily cleared enough for him to make out the intensely focused features of the figure who was watching over him.

"W-Winston?" Egon's voice was hoarse from the choking dust filled atmosphere.

"Egon!" Winston's stern face had softened in relief. "Thank God man, you're still with us!"

"What... What happened?" Egon could see stubble growing on Winston's chin and dark bags under his eyes indicative of time and lack of sleep.

Winston took his hand away from Egon's chest slowly. "Turns out that ghost we were tracking lured us down here. It was a trap."

"Trap?"

"Yeah man, we were stuck down here for a while. Going on four days now."

"Where is Ray and where is Peter?" Egon asked weakly. "Where are we?"

"First thing's first, you need to take it easy. When you fell you landed on some sharp metal and it punctured your right side. It looks like the debris managed to miss everything vital but it's still a bad injury."

"How did you get the bandages? We're still in the tunnels, correct?"

"Yeah. Right now we're holed up inside an old subway car. Pretty sure we're in a maintenance section of the tunnel." Shifting his weight so he could sit on the floor of the car instead of balancing on his knee Winston continued explaining the bizarre events that had unfolded. "Ray had found a way out of the tunnels and went to find help. But when he came back he was alone, all he could do was bring back medical supplies until someone could find us."

"Where is Ray now?"

Winston grew silent and bowed his head. "I don't know. He... He went out on a supply run two days ago. I haven't seen him and I can't raise him on the radio."

"And Peter?"

Winston visibly flinched at the uncomfortable question. "Egon, we never found Peter after the tunnel collapsed."

"What?!" Egon tried to sit up but Winston quickly put his hands on Egon's shoulders and pushed him back down on the bench. Wincing noticeably as the movement aggravated his injury Egon quickly lost his strength and tried to relax.

"Easy! Don't move or you'll start to bleed again!"

"But... Peter..."

"We'll find him, I know we will. The problem is when the tunnel collapsed a wall of debris separated us, I got stuck on one side and got stuck on the other. I was able to backtrack through the tunnels and I found Ray digging his way through the mess in the tunnel to keep you safe inside of this subway car."

"Ray?"

"He saved you." Winston kept his voice level as he spoke. "When he finally found you he had used his own hands to keep your side from bleeding out, he must've been sitting with you for hours before I finally found you. Only then did he let go just long enough to clear a path to this subway car."

"You stayed with me for four days?" Egon was trying to piece the puzzle together. "And Ray has been missing for two while Peter has yet to be found? You should've went looking for Peter..." Egon shut his eyes and let out a mournful sigh. "It was a mistake to waste all your energy in saving me, Peter could be-"

"No way, we both know that Peter Venkman is too stubborn to just roll over and die like that. He found a way out of the tunnels, I can feel it!"

"If it's been four days since the collapse and both Peter and Ray had gone for help, then why has no one come?"

"Because..." Winston was struggling to keep his mental stress from overwhelming him. "The ghost has... It looks like the ghost has turned everyone on the surface to stone."

"To... stone?"

"Yeah, that's what Ray said. It looks like we're the only unaffected people left in New York City."

Egon was having difficulty trying to comprehend everything Winston was telling him but his overall fatigue was too exasperating for the physicist to deal with. Closing his eyes Egon was beginning to blackout once again. "What about... equipment?"

"My PKE meter was busted in the collapse, so was Ray's." Winston put his hand on Egon's shoulder and squeezed just enough to get his attention without hurting him. "We couldn't find your meter and your proton pack was damaged like mine was. Ray took them both with him when he went to find supplies."

Egon manged a subtle to confirm that he had heard what Winston said.

"Hold on, don't close your eyes." Winston urged as he reached into a cardboard box sitting beside the bench where Egon was laying. "Ray brought some medical supplies, water and food. You've been unconscious for almost four days straight, you need some water." Pulling a clean bottle of water from the box Winston opened the top and helped Egon to sit up slightly in order to take a drink. "You need this."

The rational, logical portion of Egon's brain told him that Winston was right and that he needed to keep hydrated; but the emotional, empathetic portion of his brain was too focused and worried about Ray and Peter to want to take care of himself.

"Just a little." Winston coaxed as he put one hand under Egon's head and held the bottle to his lips.

Much to Egon's surprise the effort to take a simple drink seemed too taxing for his damaged body. With Winston's help Egon was able to down the much needed water, the dryness in his mouth thanks to the dust and still air quickly fading from his taste.

"Thank you."

"No problem." Winston helped Egon to lay down again. "I'm going to go look for Ray and Peter. The radios still work but I haven't been able to make contact with anyone just." Handing a radio to Egon Winston stood up and checked the battery on his flashlight. "Not much power left but it's better than nothing. I'll be back in two hours."

"Winston?"

"Yeah?" He turned to look back at Egon one last time.

"Thank you for saving my life."

"You're welcome. Just do me a favor and hang on until we can find a way out."

Egon only nodded as Winston left the subway car through the same door from whence he entered. Keeping a firm grip on the radio Egon reluctantly stayed behind.

Feeling useless and tired Egon could only lay alone in the dim lighting with his eyes closed.

"Ray... Peter." Egon muttered his friend's names. "Winston... Janine. Please be alright."

* * *

 

Winston shined his flashlight through the debris littered tunnel as he carefully tread down the tracks in search of either Ray or Peter. The tunnel exited through a small connection where the Eastern end of the tunnel connected to the Western end. Having already checked the Eastern tunnel thoroughly for Peter multiple times Winston decided it was time to check through the Western tunnel again for any sign of his missing friend. It seemed unlikely that Winston could have possibly overlooked Peter, but if Peter had been injured like Egon then the odds of missing a long figure laying among the debris were pretty high.

"Okay now," Winston resumed his rhythm of sweeping the tunnel with the flashlight while also calling out for his missing friends over the radio. "can anyone hear me? Come in!"

A quiet response over the radio gave Winston much needed hope. 'Winston,' Egon responded weakly. 'I can hear you. You're right, the radios do in fact work.'

"Man, glad to hear your voice." Winston replied happily. "Listen if you need anything for the pain or... Well, whatever. Just let me know I'll take care of it."

' _Thank you, but I believe you've already done everything you can for me. Now you need to do everything for Ray and Peter_.'

"Don't worry, I'll find them. I swear it." Winston refused to stop searching for his colleagues but didn't want to leave Egon alone for too long. "And then I'm going to get you back up to the surface."

Dripping pipes hung down from the cracked ceiling while exposed wires protruded through the crags of the tunnel walls. The tracks had been bent and warped beyond repair in the violent tremors. The dust had long since fallen to the ground but the air was still stagnant and dry with each breath taken.

Approaching the barricade of ruin and debris that had separated himself from Peter, Winston used his flashlight to check every inch of the tunnel and examine the unnatural divots that had been formed in the walls and ground from the ethereal earthquake.

No sign of Peter. No equipment, no blood, no body.

"Man, where'd you go Peter? Please tell me you're not buried under the wall..." Winston muttered as the flashlight beam swept over the carnage of the tunnel's ground, sides and ceiling. The beam shone over a deep gap near the ceiling and a glistening item caught Winston's attention. "Hello? What the hell is that?"

Stepping closer to the curious item, balancing precariously on a mound of broken concrete and stone Winston peered up into the gap and examined the item. "Ah-ha!" The screen of a cracked PKE meter was shining downward, the device strategically wedged in the cap. "This is the exit Ray must've been using!"

Taking a closer look at the gap Winston spotted the partially exposed rungs of an old iron ladder. "The ladder was buried at the top. Ray couldn't get back down! Uh-oh, I need to get Egon and get out of here before the ladder is buried completely!"

Turning quickly Winston jumped down from the debris pile and jogged back down the tunnel. Clicking on his radio he decided he needed to make contact with Egon. "I sure hope you're conscious," Winston held down the 'talk' button without breaking stride. "Egon I found a way out. We need to move before we're cut off entirely."

There was no response from the other end of the radio.

"Egon?" Winston tried again to hail his friend. "Come in! Please tell me you heard that."

' _Winston_.' Egon's voice finally responded in a groggy voice heavy with fatigue. ' _I heard you. How much time... do we have_?'

"Not sure, but I'm heading back right now. We need to get out and try to find out where Ray went."

' _Any sign from... Peter_?'

"No." Winston's voice naturally lowered in emotion. "But we will. I know it!" There was no further reply from Egon and Winston took his hand from his radio. "I hope..."

Keeping an eye on the structural integrity of the tunnel for any sign of further collapse Winston made the treacherous journey at an impressive pace. Leaving Egon behind was not an option, neither was moving on without knowing what had happened to Peter during the collapse or where Ray had gone after escaping the tunnels in seek of help.

Returning to the subway car Winston was able to slide open the metal door and make his way back over to Egon who was drifting somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness. The wounded physicist was still clutching tightly to the radio in his hand despite all outward appearances of absolute weakness.

Putting his hand down on Egon's chest Winston gauged how well Egon was breathing and with it an idea of strong the injured man was. "Egon? You with me?"

"Y-yeah." Egon's heavy eyelids open partially. Glassy eyes struggled to focus on Winston's face. "I'm conscious."

"I know you're still hurting," Winston's thoughtful brown eyes looked down at the white bandages wrapped around Egon's abdomen. "but we have to get out of here."

"I agree." Egon remained still on the bench in attempt to conserve his strength for the time being. "But once we're out of the tunnels where do we begin our search for Ray?"

"The box of supplies." Winston pulled the cardboard box over to himself with one hand. "He took it from the hospital and it's been labeled. We have a location!"

"Excellent." Egon slowly lifted one arm outward toward Winston. "Perhaps Ray knows where Peter is as well."

"Yeah, I bet you're right." Winston leaned over Egon and took his arm, draping the heavy limb over his shoulders. "There's no sign of Peter anywhere, he could've escaped the way Ray did."

Stifling a groan of pain Egon closed his eyes shut and braced himself in anticipation of the impending agony that was sure to follow.

"That's it, easy." Winston helped Egon to sit up very slowly to ensure that the movement didn't accidentally re-open any of the deep lacerations concealed beneath the white bandages. Pulling Egon's tattered black shirt down over the bandages Winston eyed the injury for any sign of further bleeding. "Lean against me."

Egon struggled to stand but with Winston's help he was able to find his footing. Shifting most of his weight onto his left leg he tightened his arm around Winston's neck like a lifeline.

"Okay, one step at a time." Winston encouraged as he carried Egon toward the opened door of the subway car. Adjusting his posture to accommodate Egon's height in comparison to his own Winston guided his colleague out of the subway car and down onto the littered ground. "Watch your footing. I'll lead and keep the flashlight on the ground. I know you can't see well without your glasses so I'll keep my pace slow, and you follow behind me."

Egon nodded and took a step back as to follow behind Winston instead of walking beside him. Putting his hand on Winston's shoulder Egon kept himself at arms length as he was blindly guided to safety. "Lead on."

"The track is uneven and there's a lot of large chunks of concrete all over the ground. It's going to be a clumsy walk but it's not too far to the ladder."

"Ladder?" Egon asked weakly.

"Yeah. I'll help you climb up. No problem."

"You sound so sure of it."

"Hey, I'm a marine, remember? Basic training revolves around getting a buddy out of a tight situation. I aced it."

"No doubt."

The tunnels continued to drip with leaking water. The echo of stone being ground underfoot as well as the tumbling of small bits of concrete and clay being kicked aside accompanied each foot step. The dim light of Winston's flashlight grew steadily duller as the depleted batteries began reaching their limit.

"A few more yards." Winston stated confidently. "How're you holding up?"

"I'm okay." Egon was moving much slower than he normal walked but he knew Winston wouldn't leave him behind. "I'll feel much better once we're outside of the tunnel and back on the surface."

"You got that right!" Winston pointed the flashlight up at the ceiling until the same glint from Ray's wedged PKE meter glistened again. "And there's our way out. Look."

Egon looked up at the dull light and the shine of the meter's display caught in the beam. "The ladder?"

"Yeah. I think I can move enough of this debris away without causing a second collapse for us to get through. It'll just take a minute."

Egon let his hand slide away from Winston's shoulders as he pressed his back against the uneven, cold tunnel wall. Sliding down the wall Egon sat on the uncomfortable tunnel ground beside the track. He couldn't see what Winston was doing but he could hear large pieces of concrete being tossed aside and he could hear Winston's deep breaths as he worked fervently to clear the path back to the surface world.

"That should do it." Winston wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his dirty jumpsuit sleeve. The opening to the ladder had been widened considerably but it would still be a difficult climb due to the limited space and Egon's limited strength. "It won't be easy but we can make it."

Egon extended his hand outward and felt Winston grab ahold firmly. After being pulled up from the ground and onto his feet Egon stumbled a little only to be caught and supported by Winston's second hand.

"You good?"

"Yes." Egon's shaking voice betrayed his confidence. "We need to get out of here as quickly as possible."

"Let me check the ladder, I want to know how much weight it can still hold." Winston slowly took one arm away from Egon, eyeing Egon warily not wanting his injured friend to collapse. Taking a firm grip on the lowest rung of the ladder he pulled down on it, shook it and pulled himself up until his full weight was pressing down on the ladder. Small flecks of concrete broke away into a dust cloud but the ladder seemed to be holding firm. "As long as we climb slowly the ladder should hold."

Climbing back down from the ladder Winston took Egon's arms and put them on his shoulders. "Hold tight onto my shoulders like this. I can climb up and carry your weight at the same time."

"Are you sure?" Egon was rightfully cautious of the damaged ladder. "Shouldn't we climb one at a time?"

"Normally I'd say 'yes', but you're hurt and we can't risk a second collapse separating us. We go together."

"Very well."

Winston turned and put his hands down on the lowest rung again. "Ready?"

"Ready." Egon put his hands on Winston's shoulders as he had been instructed and held tight.

Moving one hand at a time Winston pulled himself and Egon up from the ground of the tunnel as he began the unsteady ascent up the ladder. Once he was high enough Winston put his boots down on the rungs and used his entire body to climb the ladder. Egon held tight around Winston's shoulders and concentrated on keeping his grip. Too weak to climb alone and too weak to offer any assistance he kept silent to allow Winston full, unhindered concentration and each of his precise movements.

The opening around the ladder began to narrow the higher up the two Ghostbusters climbed. It was dark but not blinding as the light shining down through the wide opening at the table of the ladder began to intensify with a promising warmth.

"There's Ray's PKE meter." Winston noted as he climbed up past where the device had been wedged into the wall. "Yeah, no mistaking it. The meter was placed here for a purpose, it wasn't dropped."

Egon wanted to reach out and grab the meter but he didn't dare lessen his grip for even a second. "How do you know for certain?"

"Because the meter is lodged into the wall inside of a crack by its handle. Someone put it there."

"Sounds like a trail marker for us to follow."

"Exactly." Winston huffed as he continued the treacherous climb toward the light. "About half way there, just hold on a little longer."

"As long as you do the same."

Using one hand to push aside bits of concrete jutting out from the walls around the ladder Winston was able to continue climbing at a brisk pace with little difficulty as his training had given him invaluable physical discipline and stamina. The light above was brighter and warmer as the duo ascended the ladder at a respectable speed.

"I can smell fresh air." Winston commented optimistically.

"This is New York." Egon joked lightly. "Fresh air is impossible."

"Compared to being trapped in a subway tunnel for four days anything smells fresh!"

"Fair enough."

Reaching the top of the ladder Winston managed to heft himself and Egon up and out of the tunnels and back onto the sidewalk of the street surface. Taking a knee on the sidewalk Winston helped Egon to sit down and take a moment to rest as even the act of holding on was too much for his injured body to bear at the moment.

The sidewalks and streets were covered in statues. Statues that were once living people turned to stone by some kind of ethereal power. The city was quiet and bathed in stillness. Even the birds in the trees were silent as their stone prisons quieted their songs. An eerie heaviness weighed down on the entire city as the lack of life seemed like a waking nightmare.

"How's your side?" Winston asked as he stared at the white bandages visible through the tears in the fabric of the black t-shirt.

"Sore as hell. But I don't think any movement caused further damage."

"That's good." Winston shifted his weight from his knee and sat down on the sidewalk beside Egon. "As soon as you're ready we'll head over to the hospital. Maybe we'll find Ray."

"Or perhaps Peter." Egon sighed and winced as the deep breath ached at his healing side. "Regardless we must locate the ghost and understand what type of energy it used to cause... this."

"What would we even call this?" Winston asked as he took in the horrific sight. "When Ray told me everyone was turned to stone... I don't know what I was expecting to see, but this is something I can't even begin to explain."

"I can't give a definitive answer until I have more data to form a hypothesis."

"Hopefully Ray will have some answers."

Egon wrapped his arm tightly over his side as he struggled to push himself up from the sidewalk and stand. Winston helped Egon to regain his balance and used the improved lighting to check Egon's complexion and his eyes.

"We just got out of there man, pace yourself."

"I'm fine." Egon looked down at the exit to the tunnel with his blurry eyes. "Fortunately the original maintenance access tunnels were never removed when the subway was renovated. It's likely Peter found an access tunnel elsewhere and escaped before we did."

"Wouldn't surprise me. Peter is pretty clever." Winston took Egon's arm and draped it around his shoulders. "The hospital is about six blocks away. Once we're there we can get your side taken care of properly."

The wind blew coldly through the deathly silent streets. The quiet was almost deafening as it was an ambience completely to foreign to the city itself. Traffic lights flickered back and forth between red, yellow and green but no cars drove through the streets nor did any feet scamper through the crosswalks. TV's in department store windows were nothing but static and buzzing. Radios were did not emit or capture any incoming broadcasts.

"I hate this." Egon admitted in a low voice.

"So do I."

"Ray's missing, Peter's missing, the entire city has been afflicted by this ghost and we don't know where to begin searching."

"Try to keep focused on the hospital." Winston urged as he caught sight of the bright red cross symbol indicating the hospital only a few yards away. "First thing we're going to do is get you patched up."

The doors to the hospital still had power and easily slid open as Winston and Egon approached. The waiting room was filled with dozens of people who too were turned to stone. Each person frozen in position, completely oblivious to the fate that had befallen them. Doctors and nurses stood beside patients who were either laying down on tables or sitting in chairs in the waiting room.

"Creepy." Winston observed as he helped Egon walk through the waiting room and toward an exam room down the corridor.

Finding only one room without a depressing statue already inside Winston helped Egon to lay down on the exam table. The glass door of a supply cabinet in the exam room had been broken open and many supplies had been removed.

"Looks like this is where Ray got that box of supplies." Winston addressed the damage as he rummaged through what was left. Picking aside glass shards he took stock of the remaining inventory. "Bandages, painkillers, antibiotics. Yeah, this is everything Ray had already brought back down to the tunnels."

"You stated that Ray had gone in search of help." Egon remembered the conversation from the sanctuary of the subway car. "It's possible he left the city in search of aid."

"Nah, I don't think so." Winston put the gathered supplies on a small rolling table and wheeled it over to where Egon was laying. Pulling up Egon's shirt Winston began to carefully unwrap the bandages with a controlled touch. "Ray wouldn't leave the city in a time of crisis."

Egon looked at the radio that he had kept hold of in a death grip. Pressing down the 'talk' button he called out for any possible contact with another living being, anyone, somewhere in the expanse of the stilled city. "Ray? Peter? Do you copy?"

"Good idea." Winston finished removing the bandages and expose the raw wound beneath. Wanting to keep Egon distracted from the unpleasant ordeal he'd soon endure he encouraged Egon to keep talking. "Maybe now that we're on the surface our radios can reach out further."

Egon waited a moment before calling out again. "Ray. Peter. Please respond."

Winston listened to the soft static over the radio as he cleaned out the significant injury and kept Egon from moving around too much.

"Can anyone hear me?" Egon asked in a calm, level tone. "Please respond."

There was a high pitched whistle over the radio before an indistinguishable voice responded. '...-gon?' There was a brief pause. 'Egon is that you?'

"Yes!" Egon nearly shouted. "Winston and I are out of the tunnels. We're at the hospital. Where are you?"

Heavy static garbled the response. '...outside the...' Static repeatedly cut out the vague communication. '...heading to... Have you seen...?'

"Hello? Please repeat, you're breaking up."

There was no further communication as the high pitched whistle sounded off for the second time and the radio fell completely silent as the battery died.

"Damn." Egon set aside the radio and laid down flat on the table.

"Take it easy," Winston finished cleaning up the wound and was no re-wrapping Egon's side in clean bandages. "at least he knows where we are and that we're okay."

"Yes. You're right." Egon looked down as Winston finished taking care of the nearly debilitating injury that had kept Egon from moving about without assistance. "How severe is the injury?"

"Looks like a mild infection has begun to set in." Winston helped Egon to sit upright. "But considering you've been underground in a dirty tunnel filled with hundreds, maybe thousands of different strains of bacteria; I'm not surprised."

"Fortunately we have nearly unlimited access to antibiotics."

Winston gave Egon an amused smirk as he picked up a vial of penicillin and used a syringe to draw a small dosage to administer. "How much?"

Egon tried to eye the syringe but his inability to see clearly without his glasses he had to rely on Winston's good judgement. "Let's start with two-hundred milligrams."

"Got it." Winston rolled up the short sleeve of Egon's shirt and swabbed a cotton ball drenched with alcohol over the skin on the side of his bicep. "It's been a while since my emergency medical training, so sorry in advance if this hurts."

Egon did his best to relax his arm as the medication was injected. "Don't worry about it. Think of this as practice for your own injection."

Winston retracted the used needle and tossed it in the garbage can. "What do you mean?"

"You were exposed to the same bacteria as I for just as long. You may have suffered an injury without knowing and are currently at risk for an impending infection."

"Precautionary shot?" Winston asked with a mild grimace.

Egon only nodded.

"Right. Better safe than sorry." Winston loaded a second syringe with the medication and prepared his own arm for the injection.

From outside the exam room the sound of frantic, heavy boot steps charged toward the room. Winston instinctively put himself between Egon and the opened door in an attempt to protect his injured friend. As the sounds became louder the duo prepared for the intruder to either rush past the room or into the room; neither man knowing who or what to expect.

"Guys!" Ray's voice sounded off as he rushed to the opened door and braced himself with both arms against both sides of the door frame. His hands were wrapped up in tarnished, torn bandages smudged with dirt and dried blood. "You're okay!" Ray's jumpsuit was dirty, tattered and torn up along the cuff of the sleeves and ankles. There was dried blood stains on Ray's right brow and lower lip. His eyes were just as dark and heavy with fatigue as Winston and he too had stubble growing along his chin. "Thank God..."

"Ray!" Winston let his guard down and took in a deep breath. "Where've you been, man?"

"I..." He looked past Winston and over to Egon. Moving from the door frame over to the exam table he put his hand on Egon's shoulder. "Egon! You're really awake!"

"I'm fine Ray. Winston told me everything that happened. Thank you." Egon patted Ray's arm to reciprocate his relief in finding his friend alive. "Now, please tell us where you had gone."

"Oh, that..." Ray's relieved expression turned to disappointment. "When I escaped the tunnel the exit I had taken began to collapse and I knew I wouldn't be able to get back down with additional supplies without causing irreparable damage. I tried to make contact over the radio but I couldn't get through. I figured if I left the PKE meter in the tunnel you'd be able to follow me."

"Yeah, we found it." Winston confirmed. "What were you doing while we were still down in the tunnels?"

"Well, I went to explore the city and see if anyone else had managed to escape the petrification spell when I stumbled across the ghost that caused this whole mess!"

"You found the ghost?" Egon asked with an arched brow. "Where did it go?"

"It lead me all through the city, it took hours to chase it down only to lose it in the Bronx."

"The Bronx?" Egon pulled down his t-shirt. "Did you see anyone else in the city unaffected by what you called the 'petrification spell'?"

"No. It looks like we're the only ones who escaped the ghost's attack."

Winston offered his arm for Egon to lean on. "Is Ecto-1 out front?"

"Yeah. Fortunately all the gas pumps are still functioning so we're good to go." Ray rubbed at the back of his neck anxiously. "We may have to pay almost a hundred dollars to four different stations, by the way."

"We'll worry about that later." Winston let Egon continue to lean against him as he and Ray walked down the hospital corridor toward the exit. "Did you stop by the firehouse?"

"Not yet. As soon as I saw the ghost I took off after it. I didn't have time to check in."

"Then that's our next stop." Winston opened the rear passenger door of Ecto-1, which was parked hastily in the front of the hospital. The engine was still running. After helping Egon to sit down he took his position in the driver's seat."

Ray joined his colleagues in the car, joining Winston in the front seat. "So I take it no one found Peter in the tunnels?"

"Yeah." Winston pulled away from the hospital parking lot and carefully wove his way through the stopped cars lining the streets. "But we're pretty sure he found his way out."

"I hope you guys are right." Ray lamented as he looked back over his shoulder to Egon in the backseat. "I'm just so glad you guys got out of there. I'm sorry, I should've gone back but-"

Egon gave Ray a firm but non aggressive reply midsentence. "It's okay Raymond." He only addressed Ray by his full name when he was conveying a more serious, unquestioning nature. "We know you would never abandon us. Seeking out the ghost was a logical decision."

"I just wish I knew where Peter was. If he's hurt and alone-"

Winston interrupted quickly and with a stern tone of voice. "No. Don't talk like that Ray. Don't let your mind go there."

Ecto-1 pulled up in front of the eerily silent, dark firehouse. As was the fate of the city was the fate of the firehouse. No life within.

"At least we don't have to worry about Peck or anyone else getting in our way." Ray mentioned as he fumbled with the door handle of the car.

"Yeah," Winston agreed as he exited the car and proceeded to help Egon climb out of the backseat. "too bad Peter isn't here to enjoy Peck being turned to stone."

Egon was exhausted and barely able to stand without assistance. "We should check on the containment unit and be sure that it was damaged by the powerful psychokinetic energy unleashed by the ghost."

While Winston helped Egon walk up to the large doors of the firehouse Ray clumsily opened the door and pushed it inward as wide as possible. Silence and darkness greeted the trio as they walked cautiously inside the old brick structure.

Ray spotted Janine's desk with a heavy heart. "Janine..."

The loyal, fiery receptionist had also been turned to stone. She was sitting behind her desk with the phone pressed to her ear. An expression of oblivious contentment frozen over her statuesque face.

"Don't worry Ray." Egon spoke up softly. "We'll help her."

A loud 'crash' echoed from the basement causing the three men to become as still as the surrounding statues themselves. Something unknown was lurking below their feet.

"Gentlemen, we're not alone." Egon realized ominously.

The 'crashing' sound from the basement continued as whoever or whatever was thrashing about continued unchecked. The distinct clash of metal against concrete made the trio tense as it meant a great deal of aggression or determination was dictating the unseen being's every movement.

"What should we do?" Ray whispered as he glanced past Egon toward Winston.

"I'll check it out." Winston took charge of the situation as was his instinct as both a marine and a natural leader. Unzipping his jumpsuit from his chest down to his waist he pulled his arms free exposing his well toned biceps. Tying the sleeves of his jumpsuit around his waist Winston opened the bottom drawer of Janine's desk to retrieve a large, heavy flashlight. "Stay here, I'll let you know what's going on."

Ray wanted to follow his friend, wary of leaving anyone along during the unusual event overwhelming the city, but a heavy hand on his should stopped him in his tracks. Looking to Egon who kept his hand in place Ray stayed in place and reluctantly watched as Winston marched fearlessly to the stairwell leading down into the basement, and leading to the intruder below.

Winston stepped slowly and quietly with the heavy dark flashlight in his hand ready to use as a possible weapon. Keeping the light off gave Winston the element of surprise as he crept as silently as possible down the dark stairs into the dimly lit basement. Unblinking Winston stared down into the poorly lit environment and eyed the hunched humanoid figure skulking about amongst the delicate equipment stored within the basement.

Lifting his flashlight to point the beam at the intruder Winston called out in a deep, demanding voice and shone the beam as soon as the intruder turned to face him. "STOP. TURN AROUND. TURN SLOWLY."

The intruder turned quickly and lifted a hand to shield their eyes as they stumbled back and bumped into the workbench.

"Who are you? What're you doing here?"

"Jeez Winston," Peter wheezed as he turned his face from the light. "you scared the hell out of me!"

"Peter!" Winston immediately lowered his light and strode to his friend's side swiftly. "You're okay!" Putting his hands on Peter's arm Winston turned to yell up the stairs to his colleagues waiting for him. "Hey guys! It's Peter!"

"Peter?!" Ray's voice parroted the name with hesitant enthusiasm. "Is he...?"

Peter replied hoarsely but succinctly. "I'm fine Ray." His face was pale from exhaustion and his left eye was bruised from impact. He was favoring his left arm over his right which was unusual, and he seemed to be favoring his left leg by shifting his weight over to the limb.

Winston could see the pain etched on Peter's face even in the dimness of the basement lighting. "No you're not. Come on, let's get you upstairs." He took Peter's arm and wrapped it around his shoulders. He kept a firm grip on Peter's arm to keep the stubborn psychologist from trying to walk without help. "What happened to you down in the tunnels? We thought... We thought we lost you."

"I'm okay." Peter insisted as he allowed Winston to help him up the stairs and back into the garage where he knew Ray was waiting for him. "How are you guys holding up?"

"I'm just sore," Winston explained as he and Peter stepped onto the landing together. "Ray is a little banged up but it looks like you and Egon took the brunt of the trauma."

"Egon? He's here, too. Good." Peter's tense shoulders relaxed as he stepped past Janine's desk with Winston at his side. As he spied his friends a tremendous weight was lifted from his shoulders. "All of us together again."

Ray all but bear hugged Peter when he laid eyes on their previous missing colleague. "Thank God! Where've you been? Where'd you go?! We looked all through the tunnels for you for days!"

Peter patted Ray's arms gently to signal him to let go of the hug. "I dodged the collapse and wandered through the tunnel in almost absolute darkness. I found a beam of light coming down from the ceiling and found a ladder." Ray released his hug and stepped back while Peter continued his story. "I got my sorry butt out of there before another collapse crushed me and went to look for help for you guys."

Winston pieced together the events that followed. "But you found everyone frozen into stone statues and didn't know where to go, so you came back here."

"Yeah." Peter admitted feeling a little cowardly. "I figured my best bet in finding you guys was to rig up some piece of equipment but everything I tried couldn't read through the tunnels worth a damn."

Egon's eyebrow arched as an interesting theory popped into his head. "Perhaps the same reason you couldn't detect us underground is the very reason we remain unaffected by the same ethereal pulse that put the entire city into a state of petrification."

"How's that?" Ray asked curiously as he tiredly leaned against Janine's desk.

"The one element our equipment has never been able overpower or penetrate had been used during the initial construction of the subway tunnels. As a result the very same element must be resistant to the ghost's own psychokinetic frequency."

Ray nodded his head in agreement before uttering a single word. "Lead."

"Precisely." Egon winced as he took in a deep breath. "We can find a way to use this our advantage."

Winston took notice of his injured colleagues with a trained eye. The three injured Ghostbusters were in no condition to track down a ghost let alone confront it. It'd take time for the men to heal from their current conditions but time was of the essence and not on their side.

"Okay we'll think about that later, but first thing's first." Winston motioned toward both Ray and Peter. "You two need to get patched up and Egon," he pointed at the physicist last. "you need to sit down a rest for a few minutes."

"Winston's right." Ray sided with the marine as he looked down at his own heavily damaged, sore hands. "Before we can take care of anyone else we need to take care of ourselves." He glanced back up to Winston and held up his crudely bandaged hands. "Do you mind?"

Winston motioned for Ray to follow as he headed up the stairs to the second floor. The emergency first aid kit was kept in the washroom adjacent to their bunk room. There was a second kit stored in Egon's lab but that kit was stocked with more advanced emergency medical equipment in the event of a severe, life threatening injury as opposed to a typical abrasion, cut or burn.

Peter approached Egon and gave his closest friend a weary glance. "How you feelin'?"

"I'm fine." Egon tried to lie but knew Peter would never believe him. Peter was too well trained as a psychologist and had known Egon for far too long to be fooled by such a simple line. "I do require medical attention but thanks to Winston and Ray my condition is no longer of imminent concern."

"That bad, huh?"

"Very much so." Egon had to squint to look at Peter as he still couldn't see clearly without the aid of his glasses. "Did you suffer an harm during the collapse?"

"I wrenched my shoulder but it's nothing I can't handle." Peter pulled open the top drawer of Janine's desk and retrieved Egon's extra pair of glasses. "Here, this should help. I don't like it when you give me the same odd look from every chick from every bar I've ever been to."

"Thanks." Egon slipped on the glasses and was immediately relieved as the restored vision eased the painful headache he had been struggling to ignore. "You stated that you had attempted to modify our equipment as a means of exploring the tunnels. Have you had any success in your modifications?"

"Some." Peter admitted as he took a heavily altered PKE meter from his pocket. "It can't exactly track down a living, breathing human in the tunnels but it can detect movement for about two meters."

"That's good progress." Egon took the meter from Peter's hands and examined each modification. "Show me your work. With enough patience we should be able to use the meter to detect and cancel out the psychokinetic energy frequency used by the ghost and restore the city to it's normal state."

"New York and normal aren't two words you often hear in the same sentence." Peter joked as he and Egon retreated down in the basement together. "Wow me Spengz, show me the master physicist at work."

Up in the bunk room Ray sat on his bed and stared out the window to the street below. It was still eerily quiet, the hundreds of thousands of people who were nothing more than stone figures throughout the city streets were haunting to view.

"Let me see your hands." Winston sat on his own bed across from Ray's with the first aid kit opened on his lap. "Did you ever clean these cuts our properly?"

"Sort of." Ray flinched as Winston unwrapped the multiple cuts and scraps that marred his fingertips, his palms and down to his wrists. "When I got some supplies for Egon I just dumped a bottle of rubbing alcohol over my hands then wrapped them up. I didn't bother to flush them out or keep the bandages changed."

"I can tell." Winston noted the red, swollen skin all around Ray's hands. "This is going to hurt."

"Yeah, I know..."

Without another word Winston prepared Ray's hands for a proper cleaning and treatment. Like Egon Ray had been exposed to countless unknown bacteria while in the tunnels and could be on the brink of a fatal infection if not treated soon.

Ray glanced out the window once again and focused on a young kid who had been turned stone while he was out walking his dog. The dog, like his owner, were frozen midstride without a care in the world.

"Do you think we'll be able to restore the city to the way it was?" Ray asked with an innocence that was reminiscent of the very child he was staring at. "I mean, it's been four days since the ghost did this and we haven't been able to do much about it."

"It'll be fine Ray, trust me." Winston wasn't the type to give up hope so easily, nor was he the type of guy to let his friends give up either. "I'm sure Egon will be able to figure something out. You said you track down the ghost before, right?"

"Right."

"Think you can do it again?"

"Probably."

"Good." Winston finished cleaning the raw wounds on Ray's hands and was now wrapping clean white gauze over the afflicted fingers and palms. "Because you and me are going to track down that ghost, trap it and bring it back here for analysis."

Ray let out a tired sigh. "I hope Egon and Peter can find a way to reverse everything. I'd hate to live in a world of stone and silence."

"Me too."

Fumbling around with the lights in the basement Peter attempted to brighten the otherwise dingy environment to allow more adequate lighting for the two scientists to work with. The power supply had been diminished greatly seeing as the attendants and supervisors at the power plants had been turned to stone. The back up generator and emergency power supply had kicked in and kept the containment unit from shutting down, but the end result was a firehouse function at half capacity.

"So what do you think?" Peter asked as he adjusted the overhead light hanging above the workbench. "Broken or functional?"

"It's still functioning." Egon answered firmly. "With a few minor adjustments to the sensor array-"

"In English Spengz." Peter pleaded. "I'm tired, my head hurts and I'm sick of messing with all these gizmos."

"Very well. All I have to do is tweak the radar and it'll be able to record the ghost's PKE signature. Once it's recorded we can reverse the frequency and turn every statue back into a living, breathing person."

"Good! So to get the signature we need to catch the ghost, right?"

Winston and Ray joined their friends in the basement. Having heard the conversation Winston interjected and volunteered his and Ray's services for tracking down the ghost. "We got this covered. You two finish adjusting the PKE meter while we go snag that ghost."

"Perfect." Peter was completely on board with the plan as was too tried mentally and physically to endure a bust. "We'll hold down the fort."

Ray proceeded to gather up pieces of equipment for their impending bust: two proton packs, two traps, two PKE meters and two radios. The packs were fully charged, the traps were vacant and charged and the PKE meters hadn't been affected by Peter's modifications. Hefting one pack over his shoulder and handing the second to Winston Ray powered up the pack with a confident smirk. "Ready?"

"Ready." Winston accepted the offered pack and marched out of the basement with Ray at his heels. "We'll keep in contact over the radio."

Peter took a radio off the charging station and turned it on. "Don't go easy on it!"

Egon leaned over the workbench as he carefully made adjustments to the PKE meter, finishing the work that Peter had started. A few beads of sweat formed on his brow but whether it was from hard work, pushing through physical exhaustion or standing beneath intensely bright and hot lights he couldn't determine.

"How's it coming Spengz?" Peter asked as he rejoined his colleague at the workbench. "Please tell me I didn't completely break the damn thing."

"It's not broken, just damaged." Egon used the back of his arm to wipe the sweat from his forehead. "With just a few more-" His grip on the meter faltered as he suddenly leaned forward against the workbench and used his hands to support himself. Shutting his eyelids tightly he shut out all the light and saw spots of pain flashing before his eyes.

"Egon?" Peter put a hand on his friend's shoulder. He could feel how tense Egon's muscles were, indicative of incredible pain. "What's going on? Talk to me."

"M-My side." Egon replied through gritted teeth, his voice low and focused. "Muscle spasm."

"Muscle spasm? Are you sure?" Peter's eyes darted to torn fabric of the black t-shirt and stared at the white bandages showing through the holes.

"Positive."

"Need me to finish up?"

"No, I can do it." Egon shook his head and resumed his work. "I just need to concentrate."

A loud rumble outside the building, a rumble hauntingly reminiscent of the deafening tremors that shook the subway tunnels, thundered in the distance.

"Uh-oh..." Peter looked up and watched the light overhead swaying in response to the sound wave that shook the firehouse. "Ready for round two?"

* * *

 

Winston and Ray drove off in Ecto-1 to the Bronx where Ray had last seen the ghost. The street began to tremble as the powerful rumble stretched across the city like a ripple in a pond. Keeping the car at a steady speed and weaving between the other stopped cars that line the streets Winston and Ray exchanged worried glances as they too felt the same rumble that had just passed by the firehouse.

"Please tell me you felt that, too." Winston asked as he drove between two stopped cars.

"Yeah, I felt it. The ghost must be regaining its strength."

"What kind of ghost could do something like this anyway? We've never encountered anything like this before."

"My best guess is this an elemental ghost; a spectral entity that subsists on a single natural forming element in its environment."

"And that element is rock?"

"Earth technically. Many ancient civilizations believed the world was composed of only four elements: earth, water, fire and wind. Whatever natural disaster befell a tribe it was always attributed to one of these elements and a God pertaining to said element."

"So why is this ghost here in New York?"

"Well, if I'm correct then this ghost needed an abundance of energy and activity in which to sustain itself and humans produce a great deal of natural energy."

"But it wasn't the kind of energy it needed so it turned people into stone so it could feed properly."

"Exactly." Ray turned on the PKE meter as the car entered the borough. There was a small 'blip' on the radar which gave Winston the direction he needed in order to track down the ghost. "But in order to create a sustainable energy source the ghost has to use a great deal of its own energy to turn everyone into stone."

"It lit a forest fire in order to create a battery."

"Yeah, not an ideal situation."

"But we can reverse everything and set everything right. I mean, there's no way this is permanent!"

"It's possible but only if we can trap the ghost before it has a chance to regain its lost strength and use the remaining energy to become even stronger."

"Great, so we have a time limit. No pressure or anything..."

The meter chirped loudly and the lights illuminated to full brightness as it detected the ghost.

"We're close." Ray remarked coldly. "Very close."

"Point me in the right direction, we'll find it."

"There!" Ray pointed to a large junkyard in the distance. "Plenty of places for it to hide, but not for long."

Parking Ecto-1 outside the entrance to the junkyard the two Ghostbusters steeled themselves as they prepared their equipment for the all too necessary, yet dangerous confrontation with the extraordinarily powerful ghost hiding just beyond the gate.

Towers of long abandoned cars loomed almost twenty feet in the air. The towers were plentiful and menacing as the twisted, crunched metal and broken windshields was either the result of horrific accidents or years of neglect. Cars of various models, age and colors were beautiful in their diversity yet ugly as they reflected the eager changes mankind had embraced without consideration for their past or inevitable future.

Ray awkwardly slipped on his proton pack and unsheathed his thrower. "We can do this Winston. It's just one ghost against two Ghostbusters."

Slinging the two traps over his shoulders and over his own proton pack Winston turned to look at the junkyard in the bright afternoon light. "Let's do it."

Using the PKE meter as a guide Ray lead the way through the labyrinth of cars and broken glass toward the heart of the junkyard. The small dot on the radar display wove about rhythmically as the ghost restlessly circled the center of the junkyard. The high pitched chirping sound echoed noisily through the towering columns as the brave duo tracked down the ghost.

"It should be just over here." Ray indicated in a whisper as he stood at the foot of a tall column that acted like a fork in the road. The Western trail was closest to the ghost as opposed to the Eastern trail. "Want to head it off?"

"Yeah, good idea." Winston looked over at the radar screen and could see that the ghost was maintaining a consistent path and speed as it encircled the interior of the junkyard. "Take a trap and I'll head this way."

Ray accepted the trap and walked the opposite direction as Winston. Keeping low the two men were quiet and alert as they attempted to catch the ghost off guard.

As the duo circled around the central column of stacked, crushed cars the ghost froze in its path. The ghost wasn't humanoid in appearance but rather animalistic. With the head of a coyote and the upper body of a man it had two gangling, long arms that ended in two giant paws with massive talons for claws. Its lower body was a long wisping form and it glowed in an orange aura.

The ghost focused its gaze on the column as it sensed the approach of the two Ghostbusters. Unleashed a wave of energy from its body a pulse of orange light stretched outward and disturbed the otherwise stable tower of cars.

"Watch out!" Ray yelled as he rushed away from the crumbling tower of cars. He slid on his knees as he tried to avoid the incoming cascade of crushing metal. "Winston?!"

Winston had the same plan in mind. Racing from the collapsing car tower he executed a perfect baseball slide and disappeared behind a second column of cars out of sight. The cacophony of metal colliding with the hard ground thundered mercilessly throughout the junkyard as Winston laid on his side and covered his head and neck with his hands in an attempt to shield himself from the crushing debris.

A cloud of dust rose from the disturbed ground as the incredible tremor unleashed by the ghost not only shook the junkyard but shook the entire city.

* * *

 

In the basement of the firehouse both Peter and Egon were knocked off their feet and thrown down violently as the ghost's attack in the junkyard resonated throughout the city.

Peter braced himself against the wall, pressing his back against the brick surface and using his arms to support himself upright. Egon's torso had collided with the workbench violently and was now laying on the ground beside the offending desk with his arms wrapped protectively around his pained abdomen.

Dust floated down from the trembling ceiling and between the brick walls as the mortar was loosened. Tools rattled loudly against one another as they hung strategically on the wall or banged in the metal toolbox. Spare meters and lights fell from shelves and smashed onto the floor. Papers wisped about and fluttered in the violent movement. The light overhead swung back and forth quickly like a pendulum creating eerily shadows that flexed, stretched and shrunk across the floor and over the surface of the walls.

As the tremor finally quieted and the dust settled Peter looked over to where Egon was laying and crawled over to his fallen friend. Taking the radio, which had fallen to the floor, and clipping it to his belt Peter prioritized his clearly suffering friend. "Egon? You okay buddy?"

"F-Fine." Egon sputtered as he weakly pushed himself up from the ground with one arm. Sitting upright he adjusted his glasses and took in a slow breath to try and steady his nerves. "I'm fine. How are you?"

"Been better." His eyes darted up to the surface of the workbench expectantly. "How's the meter?"

"Unknown."

Peter helped Egon back to his feet as the two shaken scientists turned their attention back to the modified meter and the potential damage it could have sustained during the recent tremor.

The meter was still in place on the workbench; no wires were loose and no circuits were harmed during the tremor.

"It appears to be intact." Egon commented as he hunched down over the device. "We must get the proper frequency as s-soon as Ray and Winston return with the g-ghost."

"Egon? Are the effects of the ghost's 'spell' going to become permanent?" Peter asked quietly as he leaned over to look at the meter beneath Egon's hands. "Is that why the tremors are becoming more violent?"

"It appears so." Egon answered affirmatively as his arms began to tremble from physical exhaustion.

"How long do we have?"

"Not long." Egon all but gasped the answer as he pressed a hand firmly to his side.

Peter took immediate notice of Egon's behavior and gave his friend a once over. Seeing the red blood pouring freely from between Egon's fingers as he clutched desperately to his wounded side.

"Oh God, Egon!" Peter put his hand over Egon's and tried to help his friend apply pressure to the bleeding injury. "What the hell happened to you?"

"F-Fell." Egon stumbled backward from the workbench while Peter used his other hand to help guide him to a wall to rest against. "Metal debris on the t-track."

"You look like you were mugged in an alley!" Peter guided Egon into a sitting position against the wall. "Why didn't you tell me you were hurt so bad?"

"The fall against the desk must've re-opened the wound. Gravity has been working against my recovery ever since Winston assisted my escape from the tunnels."

"I thought gravity wasn't supposed to work against us until we hit our forties..." Peter instinctively cracked a joke in an attempt to lighten the heavy mood.

"I didn't..." Egon trailed off as his face went deathly pale, his eyes glazed over and his body began shivering.

"Egon? Egon, hey! Stay with me." Peter patted the side of Egon's face before pressing his fingers against the side of Egon's neck. His pulse was abnormally fast which was a sign of significant blood loss. "Look at me, keep your eyes on me!"

"T-Trying."

"Talk to me, how can I help you? How do I treat this?" Peter pressed his hand down harder against the injury hoping to stop or at the very least slow the bleeding.

Egon groaned in pain and took a few panting breaths. "There's debris of some kind... It was embedded in the wound." He paused to take a breath and collect his thoughts. "The tremor must've d-dislodged the debris."

"What do I do to stop the bleeding?" Peter patted Egon's face a second time, more forcefully but not aggressively. "Come on, you were pre-med!"

"Need to locate the s-source of the bleeding."

"Locate the source of the bleeding. How do I do that?"

"Need to..." Egon was struggling to keep coherent as the both the blood loss and pain were becoming to strenuous for him to endure.

"Get up. You can do this." Peter pulled Egon up from the ground by one arm and wrapped the same around his neck. Half carrying, half dragging the bleeding physicist up the stairs and out of the basement Peter pulled Egon into the small but efficient lab on the ground floor. With a sweeping motion Peter cleared off the surface of the large table in the center of the lab. "Lay back and keep talking!" Peter sat Egon down on the table and used his hand to help Egon lay down flat on his back. "Whatever you do don't close your eyes, stay awake!"

Egon took in slow, shallow shuddering breaths as Peter scrambled about the lab gathering any and all equipment that could prove useful. He also retrieved the large emergency medical kit that came stocked with more sophisticated pieces of equipment and medications.

"Alright Spengz, time to step in the way-back machine and revisit your medical school days." Peter rolled up the sleeves of his jumpsuit and took a few calming breaths of his own. "Here's the scenario: You have a man with a deep penetrating wound to his epidermal and subdermal tissues in the lower right flank of his abdomen." Peter stared at Egon's eyes trying to gauge whether or not his friend could hear him or understand what he was saying. "The man has already lost a great deal of blood and is at risk of slipping into hypovolemic shock; what do you do?"

"I..." Egon began fading out of consciousness.

"No! No you don't!" Peter pressed his hand down heavily against the wound using the sharp pain as a means of pulling Egon back into full consciousness. He could feel how cold Egon's own hand had become beneath his own warmer palm.

Egon winced and tried to push Peter's hand away before realizing what was happening. "Ow."

"Sorry."

"No you're not..." Egon smirked appreciatively as he looked down at the blood seeping through his own hand and Peter's hand. The white bandage was completely soaked through and now useless. "Apply pressure to the wound to stem the bleeding, use locate and tie off the source of the bleeding, pack the wound and bandage the wound. Use heat to keep the patient from succumbing to shock."

"Okay, easy." Peter looked around the lab and back down at his gathered supplies. "Applied pressure, check. Locate the source of the bleeding, let's see..." Using one hand to lift up the blood saturated hem of the torn t-shirt Peter peeled away the bandage and was greeted by the monstrous site of the fully exposed and grotesque wound. "Oh man, I didn't know it was this bad..."

Egon looked down at his bloody abdomen and blinked slowly. "Neither did I." Swallowing once Egon pressed his fingers against his skin near the deep stab wound in search of the offending debris still inside the wound. "Peter... I think I found the debris."

"What do I do?"

"You need to... I need you to try and keep the wound open. The debris must be removed before the bleeding can be stopped properly."

"O-Open?" Peter stammered with a twinge of nausea on his tongue. "How?"

Egon laid his head back down on the table and closed his eyes as he tried to think through the heavy fog that was shrouding his mind.

"Hang on." Peter took the white lab coat that Egon kept draped over the back of the large chair beside the table and wadded it up into a ball. Using the coat as a makeshift pillow Peter tucked the cotton mass under Egon's head to help him to look down at the wound. "Better?"

"Yes. Thank you."

"Egon. Talk me through this. How do I stop the bleeding?"

"Look inside the kit." He instructed in a calm tone as he eyed the blood still seeping from his injury despite the pressure being actively applied by Peter's hand. "There should be a pair of small forceps wrapped in sterilized packaging."

"Forceps." Peter used one hand to rummage through the kit while keeping his other hand firmly placed over the wound. "Is is the packaging that kind of looks like chop sticks?"

"Yes. You've found it."

Peter bit down on the corner of the plastic packaging and tore it open with his teeth. He spat out the plastic and held the forceps confidently with his thumb and forefinger. "What else?"

"Get a small mirror."

"A... mirror?"

"Yes." Egon confirmed weakly. "There should be one in the top left drawer of the desk."

"Uh..." Peter handed the forceps to Egon in order to free up his only usable hand at the moment. "Top drawer," he pulled it open and pushed aside an array of magnifying glasses and metal bins until he found a round mirror; about the size of a softball, resting near the back of the drawer. "got it."

"Hold the mirror so I can see the top of the wound in the reflection." Egon continued to instruct despite his deep fatigue.

"Is this good?" Peter adjusted the mirror until Egon could clearly see the back of Peter's blood stained hand.

"Yes." Egon took the forceps and hovered them delicately over Peter's hand. "Move your hand aside and press down on my stomach just below the wound."

"Do what now?"

"I need your help to keep the injury site as stable as possible."

"Egon, are you seriously about the perform surgery on yourself?"

"In the most crude sense, yes."

Peter trusted Egon's instincts and intelligence will all of his being, but with Egon so weak with waning consciousness it seemed like he was about to let his best friend kill himself. "Are you... certain? I can do it."

"I'm certain." Egon gave Peter a reassuring glance. "I know you could do it, but I don't want you to live with the knowledge of having willingly caused me such great pain."

Peter tentatively prepared to move his hand where directed. "Tell me when you're ready."

"Please. Move your hand."

Reluctantly Peter lifted his hand from the injury site and pressed down just a few centimeters below the gaping wound. He could feel every muscle in Egon's abdomen tense beneath his palm as soon as he pressed down near the raw exposed flesh.

"Keep your hand there." Egon gritted his teeth as he pushed through the pain. Using the forceps he slowly, meticulously put the device into the wound and located the debris that had caused so much internal damage. "Peter I need you to press down a little harder."

Obeying his friend's request Peter applied more pressure which in turn caused additional blood to flow from the wound.

"There." Egon enclosed the strong tips of the forceps around the offending object. With a surprisingly steady hand he retracted his grip and pulled the forceps back from the injury. Clasped tightly between the end of the forceps was a two inch piece of jagged metal. "Success."

Peter pulled a wad of clean gauze from the medical kit and used it to mop of the blood from the injury. "What the hell is that?"

"My guess is this is a piece of reinforced steel that had once been used to stabilize the tracks within the abandoned subway tunnel." Setting aside the forceps Egon let out a deep pained breath. "Can you see the damaged blood vessels?"

Peter dared to take a closer look at the wound for the sake of his friend's health. Peering down through the damage flesh and muscle tissue Peter could see a single bleeding vessel at the deepest point of the injury. "Yeah, I can see it."

"Pack it with gauze," Egon shivered again but kept his thoughts clear. "and conceal it with a bandage. That's all that can be done for now."

"Okay, yeah, easy." Peter was visibly shaken by the ordeal but didn't let his unsteady nerves stop him from helping Egon. "We better let Ray and Winston know what happened."

"Agreed. Perhaps they've captured the ghost." Egon watched as Peter expertly cleaned out the tender injury and wrap it properly under fresh white gauze.

Peter unclipped the radio from his belt and pressed down the 'talk' button with his bloody fingers. "Ray, Winston, do you guys hear me?"

There was no response, not even static.

Shrugging his shoulders indifferently Peter tried again. "Ray? Winston? If you can reply, do it!"

Still nothing.

Egon stared up at the ceiling overhead. "They must be busy. Hopefully they've made some success in tracking the ghost."

"I'm sure they have." Peter walked over to the far wall where Ray's white lab coat was hanging by itself on a small hook. Draping the coat over Egon gently Peter wiped his bloody hands together anxiously. "I'm going to go get the meter. We need to finish adjusting it before Ray and Winston get back with the ghost!"

* * *

 

Opening one eye Winston watched as the ghost drifted down from the air to the ground as it used a great deal of its recovering energy in its most recent and impressively powerful attack. Keeping his movements slow and controlled he pushed himself up from the ground and knelt down beside a mass of crumples and twisted metal.

The ghost had its back to Winston, it seemed as though the specter had lost track of the marine but hadn't taken its eyes from Ray. Ray, who was buried somewhere beneath the crushing tower of fallen wrecked vehicles didn't even attempt to call out to Winston for help.

Just as Winston was about to call Ray's name he caught himself. If he could remain silent and focus on the ghost he would retain the element of surprise as the ghost still hasn't noticed him kneeling behind a mangled pick up truck.

With a steady hand Winston unsheathed the thrower from his pack and powered up the delicate equipment on his back. Aiming the thrower at the ghost's back Winston placed his thumb on the trigger and held his breath as he finally opened fire.

The ghost, who had been startled by the inescapable proton stream, screeched loudly and violently as it thrashed futilely against the protonic noose that had ensnared from behind.

"You aren't going anywhere!" Winston shouted as he powered up his stream further to ensure the ghost didn't managed to break free.

Taking the trap, that had thankfully stayed with him during his mad dash to safety, he used one hand to pull the trap by its cable from his shoulder and placed it on the ground. Kicking the trap forward several yards Winston then stepped back to line the ghost up with the now deployed trap just a few feet below it. Stomping down on the release trigger the doors of the trap burst open willing to accept the unwilling prisoner.

Letting out one final feral screech of anger and frustration the ghost was enveloped in the bright white light of the ion trap.

Stomping the trigger once more the doors slammed shut with a satisfying 'thud' as the ghost was trapped within. Where the light had ceased smoke now billowed forth.

"Got it!" Winston jogged over to the trap and nudged the metal box with the side of his boot. "You're coming with us!"

It was then Winston remembered Ray. He hadn't made a sound and wasn't visible amongst the menacing wreckage of the toppled cars.

"Ray?" Winston called out as he returned his thrower to its sheath. "Where are you?"

There was no vocal response save for a low cough from precariously near a mass of jagged metal.

"Come on man, talk to me!" Winston urged as he traced the sound to a red car that was laying on its side. It had no doors and the windows had broken out years ago. "Ray! Ray, answer!"

"Winston!" A cough followed the response. "I'm here."

"Thank god..."

"Did you catch the ghost?" Ray asked sincerely.

"Yeah," Winston laughed a little at the childlike innocence that Ray often exhibited. "I got him!"

"That's good."

Winston climbed up to the top of the sideways car, using the exposed under carriage like a ladder. Peering down into the wide opened vehicle he spotted Ray laying on his back with a smile on his face a a trail of blood on his forehead. "You okay?"

"My leg." Ray groaned in pain. He coughed again as he wafted a cloud of disturbed dust from his face. "I think it's broken."

"Which leg?" Winston asked as he carefully maneuvered down into the car and leaned over Ray who was unable to move where he laid. The car had fallen over Ray in such a way that he had avoided being crushed entirely but still managed to pin his right leg down on the ground under the immense weight. "Uh-oh." Winston put his fingers under the body of the car beside Ray's leg. "I think I can lift it up enough for you to pull your leg free. You ready?"

"No..." Ray whimpered as he braced himself against the torn, rotten interior seats of the car. "But do it anyway!"

"One, two..." Before he finished the countdown Winston lifted the car up just a few inches enough for Ray to pulled his injured leg free. "three!"

Ray pulled himself in to upright sitting position as he pulled his leg away from the car and up to his chest. Wrapping his hands around his shin he hissed in pain and took some deep breaths while Winston let go of the car. "Thanks..."

"Sorry about that." Winston smirked a little as he looked at the bloodied fabric that had been torn from the impact of the car. "How bad is it?"

"I can't tell. I'm not sure if it's a full break or just fractured." Ray lifted his hands away from his leg and looked at the bleeding cut across his shin and dark bruise forming around the cut. "But it hurts like hell!"

"Can you climb out through the frame of the windshield?" Winston pointed at the narrow escape route curiously.

"No." Ray didn't even give it a second thought. "Not even Janine could squeeze through that!"

"Right. Then up we go."

"Won't be easy."

"Never is. But compared to escaping the tunnels with Egon this will be a walk in the park." Winston wove his fingers to together and offered Ray his hands to stand up in. "Just shift your weight onto your good leg, I'll help guide you out."

"Okay." Ray awkwardly pulled himself up and stood uncomfortably on his uninjured leg. After regaining his balance he reached up and put his hands on the exterior of the car's frame and held tight. Pulling himself up with his hands he felt Winston put his hands under his boot for support. "Give me a boost!"

"Go!" Winston pushed Ray upward with his hands and watched as his friend managed to escape from the interior of the car and rest on the side. "You good?"

"Yeah! Do you have the radio? We should contact Peter and Egon."

"I left it in the car." Winston confirmed as he followed Ray out of the car using the same technique of grabbing onto the car's frame and pulling himself up. "The trap is just over there. Can you make it over to the car by yourself?"

"I think so." Ray gingerly climbed down from the car and planted all of his weight onto his undamaged leg. Using the multiple piles of junked cars to guide himself from the chaotic scene of the confrontation and back to Ecto-1 parked just outside the entry gate, Ray took slow and careful steps mindful of his leg. "I'll get on the radio, you get the trap!"

Winston easily scooped up the trap and caught to to Ray, walking as his side, before Ray had taken a dozen steps forward. Slinging the trap over his shoulder Winston took Ray's right arm around his neck and helped his friend to walk easier by carrying Ray's weight away off his bleeding leg.

"We better hurry back to the firehouse, I can't imagine the last attack by that ghost did us any favors."

* * *

 

With Egon's lethargic yet invaluable guidance and patience Peter was able to finish adjusting the PKE meter's power levels without the device breaking or overloading. As Peter timidly held the delicate instrument in his hands for Egon to inspect as he laid on the lab's table the radio clipped to Peter's belt finally crackled to life with the sound of a familiar voice.

' _Peter? Egon? Can you hear me_?' Ray's voice sounded stilted but clear as he spoke.

"Thank God!" Peter set the PKE meter down beside Egon as he unclipped the radio from his belt and responded. "Hey Ray! It's about time! Did you and Winston catch our little 'friend'?"

' _Affirmative_!' Ray replied confidently. ' _We're on our way back to the firehouse. How are things on your end_?'

"We finished the meter so all we need is to scan that ghost and we can set up the proper frequency. What's your ETA?"

' _About fifteen minutes_.'

"Good. Get back here A.S.A.P.," He studied Egon's expression before continuing on. "we need to get the city back to normal."

' _Couldn't agree more. Ray out_.'

Peter clipped the radio back to his belt and folded his arms as he gave Egon a weary side. "Fifteen minutes before they get here. How long do you think it'll take to get the right frequency programmed?"

"A conservative estimation gives me an approximate time of eight minutes." Egon answered tiredly. "I could hear Ray's voice. I believe he and Winston had a difficult time confronting the ghost."

"That's what I figured. Whatever happened out there we'll know soon enough. But!" Peter held out one hand and began counting off small details one by one on his extended fingers. "We still need to figure out the right frequency, ensure the frequency is powerful enough to travel through the city without damaging anything, find a way to explain how four days had passed without anyone noticing and getting you proper medical treatment without sounding crazy."

"Based on the readings you had taken while attempting to locate our positions in the subway tunnels the meter is already at the proper power levels." Egon readjusted his glasses with one hand as the frames began to slide awkwardly down his nose. "Considering you made an unprecedented advancement with the meter to allow it to scan through several inches of lead; a feat that the ghost with its seemingly perpetual energy source could not accomplish, determining the proper PKE frequency in which the ghost used to deliver its psy-energy pulse and will be our largest hurdle to overcome."

"You're sounding rather optimistic." Peter observed. "You're not delirious from blood loss, are you?"

"No." Egon gave Peter a stern look. "I assure you I'm fully coherent and of sound mind and body."

"That'd be great if you were being sworn in at court." Peter quipped sarcastically. "But right now we need you as focused as possible." Whispering with a sense of defeat Peter admitted his hesitation. "I don't think I can handle dealing with this on my own anymore."

"You won't have to." Egon tried to sit up a little but immediately laid flat back as the pain in his side flared with the simple motion. "We're here. We had been separated during the tunnel collapse but we have all been reunited. You don't have to carry the full weight of the city on your shoulders anymore."

"Thanks Spengz." Peter gave his friend a sly smirk. "You know, for a 'Vulcan' masquerading as a human you have a pretty descent bedside manner."

"And what is wrong with being Vulcan?" Egon retorted quickly. "Humans are overrated."

"Touche."

The doors of the firehouse garage opened wide as Ecto-1 backed into the building. The vehicle was dirty from not only the initial attack on the city stirring up dust, but from the dangerous collapse at the junkyard causing further disturbances and messes.

"That was quick." Peter noted as he stepped out of the lab and watched as the hearse came to a stop. "Guess Winston doesn't use red lights or stop signs when he's the only one on the road." He looked back over his shoulder to Egon. "He always the smart one."

"Oh?" Egon inquired, already knowing that Peter had a one liner set up.

"Winston's the smart one, Ray's the sensitive one, I'm the tough one and you; according to Janine, are the cute one!"

Egon blushed awkwardly as he hastily broke eye contact with Peter.

"Ha! Knew that one would get you." Returning his attention to the hearse he watched as Winston stepped out of the driver's side with the trap slung over his shoulder. "Is that our little guest?"

"Yeah, we got him." Winston held the trap with one hand. "Is the meter ready?"

"Yeah. It's good to go. Uh," Peter noticed that Ray hadn't left the hearse. "where's Ray?"

"He has a busted leg. He can't move too far right now."

"Oh, well, maybe he and Egon can bunk together at the hospital."

"Egon?" Winston looked into the lab and spied the weak physicist laying on the table with the white lab coat draped over him. "Aw man, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you-"

"It's alright Winston." Egon interrupted the guilt riddled marine quickly. "This wasn't anything you could've prevented."

Peter grabbed the meter from beside Egon and held it out toward the trap. "So, we just need to get the right frequency..."

The meter screeched loudly as it scanned the trap and registered the powerful frequency being emitted by the ghost. The needle spiked across the display before settling in place at an impressively high number.

"Got it!" Peter announced. "Now, before we set everything right with our own artificially produced psy-energy pulse," he gave Egon a smug glance as he had often been criticized for not paying close enough attention to the equipment. "why don't we head over to the hospital so we can get our favorite physicist and engineer the proper treatment they deserve without having to deal with traffic?"

"Nice plan, but there's one problem." Winston pointed out. "If we unleash the pulse near the hospital then it won't stretch across the city like it should. We need to set off the pulse at the epicenter of the ghost's attack."

"In... the tunnel."

"In the tunnel."

"Damn it."

"He's right." Egon confirmed Winston's comment. "It's the only way to ensure that the full effects of the ghost's 'petrification spell' are reversed."

"Damn it." Peter grumbled again. "Fine, I'll go. But I reserve the right to complain the whole time."

"How's that different than any other call?"

Peter gave Winston an amused glare. "This time I'm giving you a head's up."

Egon struggled to sit up, only to fall back a second time.

Noticing the extent of Egon's physical limitations Winston placed the trap down on the counter in the lab and offered Egon an arm to lean against. "We better get you and Ray to the hospital first after all. Peter and I can backtrack to the tunnels on foot."

"We can?" Peter was sounding less and less and thrilled with the prospects of returning to the tunnels.

"Yeah, we can." Winston helped Egon to sit upright. "Help him."

"Yeah, yeah. I got ya' Spengz." Peter tucked the meter into his belt as he took Egon's other arm and wrapped it around his shoulders. "Just put one foot in front of the other."

Winston opened the rear passenger door and helped Egon to slip inside while Peter climbed in after him. "Got the meter?"

"Got it. Got the coordinates?"

"I think I can trace it with an unmodified meter pretty easily."

"Then let's get going."

As Ecto-1 once again graced the statue filled streets of New York the four Ghostbusters stared out the windows unable to find the words to properly describe the hauntingly bleak world that their city had become. The silence was as eerie as it was vast. The sun was beginning to set, which only brought a looming darkness over the city that intensified the horrid image.

"Uh..." Peter was looking nervous as the sun continued to set. "You may want to speed up there a little Zed. The sooner we get this handled the better."

"Something on your mind?" Winston had never seen Peter frazzled before. "What's up?"

"Certainly not the sun!" He snapped bitterly. "Step on it! We should handle this before it gets dark."

"What difference does it make?" Ray asked defensively as Peter's tense tone of voice was suspicious. "Peter, is there something you're not telling us?"

Peter sighed and crossed his arms across his chest. "It wasn't so much keeping anything from you guys as it was sparing you nightmares for years to come."

"Venkman." Egon spoke up firmly. "What's going on?"

Taking a deep breath to steel his thoughts Peter reluctantly answered. "At night the statues... The people trapped inside the stone can... I can hear them crying out in pain."

"You can... hear them?" Ray asked confusedly.

"It's a low moaning that sounds like utter pain and terror had a very disturbing, very loud, very colicky baby." Peter stared blankly at the floor of the car. "I could hear it all night every night. And being alone with that sound..." He visibly flinched. "Alone except for Janine trapped in stone."

"Oh man," Winston was deeply empathetic to the psychologist's discomfort. "I can't imagine what it would be like to all alone in New York City! Why didn't you tell us this before?"

"Because I didn't want you guys to worry about it or experience it. Trust me, once you start hearing that level of... despair... you won't sleep for a week."

"That bad?" Ray asked sincerely. "I... I heard the groaning too. I just thought it was my imagination!"

"It messes with your head. I could've sworn I heard hands banging on the doors of the firehouse and clawing at the windows. There were times I expected to see Janine lurking around like a golem or something! Thought I was going crazy until you guys showed up."

"You're not crazy Peter." Egon offered some degree of comfort. "Isolation after a traumatic event can cause vivid hallucinations, but it doesn't mean you've gone crazy."

"Thanks Egon. Nice to know I haven't gone crazy, I'm just suffering from hallucinations, P.T.S.D. and sleep deprivation!"

The night overtook the city and a low groaning began to fill the air as shadows filled the streets. The groans were quiet at first then gradually became louder and louder with each passing second. Driving pass statue after statue filled the air with palpable dread that sent chills up the usually unflappable scientists' spines.

Winston subconsciously pressed down harder on the accelerator causing the hearse to speed up.

"Here's the plan," Winston needed to talk and drown out the damnable groans. "Ray and Egon will sit in the car at the hospital while me and Peter reverse this spell. As soon as everyone is back to normal you contact us over the radio and we'll head on over. You two need to medical attention, NOW."

"I concur." Egon was still very weak and in tremendous pain but his will and mental resolve gave him the strength to push the pain aside for the time being.

"Not argument from me." Ray supported the plan entirely.

Pulling into the hospital parking lot Winston and Peter climbed out of the vehicle. Peter double checked the radio and his belt and held a tight grasp on the crucial meter.

"We'll move as quick as we can." Winston reassured his injured colleagues as he tested a spare meter taken from the hearse's rear storage compartment. "If you need anything from us just call, we'll hurry back."

"It'll be fine." Ray turned in his seat to look at Egon. "We've been through worse, remember?"

"Yeah. And I wish I didn't!" Winston closed the car door and looked out into the darkness with his meter in the air. The groans of the statues made him tremble with unspoken, expertly masked fear. "Let's get going."

"Right." Peter walked at Winston's side as the duo crossed the street and made their way back to the entrance of the abandoned subway tunnels.

The meter had managed to record the various PKE levels that had been unleashed by the ghost during their initial hunt for the troublesome specter. Selecting the strongest energy level Winston was able to trace it back to its origin point just a few yards inside the stairwell of the long deserted entrance to the underground.

"This way." Winston pointed toward the source of the reading in the distance.

The groans of the trapped souls within the petrified human bodies echoed loudly, ominously through the city. The groans were almost like a taunt or warning growl meant to deter the two Ghostbusters from completing their task.

"Maybe we should pick up the pace." Peter suggested as the loud groans of seemed to follow them as they walked toward the entryway.

"Yeah, I think you're right." Winston began a light jog with Peter keeping pace. "You were definitely right, the sooner we take care of this the better!"

"See? Now if you guys could just keep it in your heads that Peter is always right then things would be a whole lot easier!"

* * *

 

Ray had torn strips of his tattered jumpsuit from his leg and used the fabric to wrap up the deep laceration that ran across his shin, almost down to the top of his foot. Fortunately the strong material of his boot had prevented further damage to the limb. Checking his leg for any further sign of bleeding while also gauging the severity of his pain his concern for Egon only mounted.

The groans throughout the city grew louder as a chorus of the undead sang out bitterly.

"I know you were already in pretty rough shape when Winston helped you escape the tunnels," Ray hissed as he pulled his hand from his leg. "but you look even worse. Did something happen while we were out in the junkyard?"

Egon's eyes were beginning to glaze over from pain and weakness. "I took a severe blow to the abdomen when the ghost attacked the city for the second time."

"How severe?" Ray didn't like Egon's low voice. "It's not... critical is it?"

Egon could only nod. "It's critical enough."

"Shit. Alright, let's get inside the hospital now. Winston and Peter have to be close to the subway by now anyway."

"Agreed." Egon slurred. He pressed his hand to his side and stared at his palm. It was red. "I'm not feeling well."

"Yeah, I can tell." Ray clumsily opened the front passenger door of the car, balancing poorly on his uninjured leg and pulled open the rear door of the hearse. The radio wasn't even on his mind. "It won't be easy but I can help you walk to-" The groans were almost deafening, as if the statues had closed in on the hospital. "Egon... Something's very wrong here."

Winston and Peter all but sprinted down the stairwell into the abandoned tunnel line. The tracks were already heavily damage due to years of neglect, but the powerful attack by the ghost had crippled the structural integrity leaving the dark tunnels nothing more than winding crags of bricks and steel.

"Okay, we're close!" Winston called out as he let the meter guide his every footstep. "Get ready to-"

A menacing roar of anger echoed through the tunnel forcing the two Ghostbusters to come to an abrupt halt.

"What the HELL was that?!" Peter asked as he slowly lowered his protective hands from his ears.

"I don't think we want to know."

Heavy footsteps in the distant blackness shook the tunnel violently in a predictable rhythm. Loose dust, bricks and pipes fell through the destabilized ceilings and walls of the tunnels. A group of humanoid figures cloaked in shadows encroached on the Ghostbusters.

"At least we know for sure Egon was right." Peter muttered. "I'm NOT crazy!"

"Come on!" Ray awkwardly grabbed Egon's arm and hefted him out of the car. "We need to get inside, now!"

"Ray..." Egon was losing his strength quickly. "There will be more of them inside the hospital."

"I know, but as soon as the spell is reversed everyone in there will back to normal. They'll help us!"

"I hope you're right..." Egon lost his footing but Ray managed to catch him, though the catch was less than graceful.

Ray took a knee and helped Egon to do the same as they tried to take a breath before moving again. In the process of guiding Egon down to the ground Ray tried to keep his hand from touching Egon's damaged side by supporting him by his chest. It was then Ray felt how saturated the fabric of Egon's shirt had become with blood. Fresh blood.

"Egon!" Ray looked at his bloodied palm and swallowed nausea. "Why didn't you tell me-"

The loud groaning snarled wickedly as heavy footsteps began marching through the parking lot. The heavy footsteps caused the earth to tremble with expansive shock waves.

"Tell me later!" Ray tightened his arm around Egon's chest and practically dragged his ailing friend to his feet and through the parking lot. Rushing through the hospital doors on only one good leg and with the deadweight of his friend at his side Ray was greeted by the sight of four red eyed statues staring at him in the lobby. "Uh... We should lock ourselves in a room!"

Egon didn't respond or even seem to hear Ray's voice.

"Okay, don't worry Egon, I'll get us to safety."

Sidestepping the statues Ray made his way slowly but surely to the same exam room where he had initially gathered supplies and was reunited with his friends earlier in the day. The door wasn't thick but it could still lock and provide some form of barrier between the two prone humans and the angry walking stone statues.

Slamming the door shut with one hand Ray found the lock on the knob and secured the only entrance to the room. After flipping He carried Egon over to the exam table and laid him down.

"Okay Egon, we're safe. Just hold on! I'm sure Winston and Peter will have everything back to normal any second now!"

Egon didn't say anything. His face was deathly pale and his side was beginning to bleed heavily as delay in medical attention was proving itself fatal for the weakened physicist.

"Egon?" Ray put his hand down on Egon's cold chest and felt how shallow his breathing had become. "Hang on pal!"

Ray frantically began rummaging through the storage cabinets that lined the wall of the exam room and checking through the drawers of the rolling 'crash' cart used to revive patients who suffer from cardiac arrest. Unwilling to trust his limited knowledge of medicine Ray chose an alternative method of assisting Egon. Taking a light green colored 'ambubag' he placed the pump-like device over Egon's nose and mouth and began to press on the pump to force air into Egon's starving lungs.

Pounding on the locked door caused Ray to jump in surprise. The statues were not only groaning but they were indeed moving around. And the statues were angry.

Ray put a hand to his belt to grab for the radio only to realize that he had left his only line of communication to the others behind. "Shit!"

The door shook violently on its hinges as the angry statues tried to force the door open. Through the frosted glass of the door Ray could see the outline of the figures as well as the deep red glow of the eyes peering inside at him.

"Deep breaths Egon, deep breaths!" Ray encouraged as he continued to breathe for Egon. He watched as Egon's chest evenly rose and fell with each pump of the bag and could see color returning to his pale, almost blue tinted lips. "That's it, just a little longer. You'll be okay."

* * *

 

Winston and Peter backed away from the approaching figure as neither one of them had thought to bring a proton pack. The nearest packs were in the rear storage compartment of Ecto-1, which was several blocks away. Keeping quiet the duo ducked down a small side tunnel and pressed their backs against the tunnel wall.

"Well?" Peter asked in a whisper as he stared intently at the larger tunnel for any sign of the approaching figures. "Can we use the frequency or not?"

"No," Winston answered in a whisper as soft as Peter's. "we need to be about ten yards deeper before the frequency will be able to fully reverse the spell."

"Great. How do we get by?"

"I have an idea but I don't think you'll like it."

"As long as it doesn't involve me looking stupid or human sacrifice I'm all ears."

"We need to split up."

"Remember what I just said about human sacrifice?"

"As long as we can get around those... things we'll be alright. I'll take the point, you follow."

Peter was hesitant to face off with the bizarre figure in the darkness but he knew that it was the only option left. "Okay, fine. Let's do it!"

Winston boldly stepped out of the adjacent tunnel and honed in on the two ominous red glowing orbs peering back out of the darkness. It was alone, which was good, but the tunnels were an architectural labyrinth; there could be any number of additional figures hiding in the narrow passageways, concealed within the deep blackness.

Using his meter he scouted the proper location in which to unleash the frequency. Choosing to confront the figure face to face Winston made his way deeper into the tunnel knowing that Peter was watching his every move from the relative safety of the adjacent tunnel.

"That's it Winston, nice and steady..."

The meter in Winston's hand honed in on the origin point of the ghost's attack. The display lit up and chirped while the two white antennae at the sides began to raise up as the trace frequency suddenly intensified from the appropriate proximity.

Carefully Winston knelt down on the tracks and planted the screeching meter into the ground by its handle.

"What're you doing?!" Peter nearly shouted but he caught himself before he accidentally gave away his position.

Winston walked past the meter and deeper into the darkness. With his head held high he confront the figure with a booming voice. "Show yourself! Only cowards hide in the shadows!"

"Who you calling- Oh, wait." Peter realized that Winston wasn't yelling at him but at the threatening figure in the darkness. Picking up on the cue he rushed from the tunnel while keeping low. Making his way to where the meter was positioned Peter used the modified meter and lined up the two devices. "Just give me one minute and we'll be home free!"

The figure in the darkness took a heavy step toward Winston but the courageous marine refused to back down. The figure was that of a maintenance worker who had been turned to stone. It's bright red eyes seemed to flare with life as Winston dared to challenge it with his own presence.

Switching on the modified meter Peter held his breath as an intense pulse of energy was unleashed from the instrument clutched in his hand.

The tunnels trembled violently as the surge of energy passed through the city in an ever expanding ripple. Winston and Peter kept low to the ground in the event the tunnels began to collapse while the stone skin that had taken over the body of the maintenance worker faded away leaving behind untarnished flesh and a very puzzled man who collapsed to the ground weakly.

"Let's get out of here!" Winston called out as he grabbed the maintenance worker's arm and began dragging him down the tracks.

Peter grabbed the two meters and fled from the tunnel right behind Winston. "Best idea you had all night!"

* * *

 

Ray was getting tired. He had been assisting Egon's breathing for almost ten minutes without pausing. The pounding on the door suddenly became quiet and the red glow of the eyes glaring through the window had disappeared.

"What's going on now?" Ray asked as he continued the steady rhythm.

A gentle knocking on the door followed by a kind voice resonated through the locked door. "Hello? Is someone in there?"

"They did it!" Ray cheered as he bolted, poorly on his bad leg, to the door and unlocked it. "Help my friend! I'll explain everything later!"

The door opened as a doctor stepped inside the exam room. He was in his 40's, tall, dark skinned and had very warm brown eyes watching Ray through his wire framed glasses. "What in the world?" He saw Ray return to the exam table and continue to aid Egon's breathing. "What happened- Never mind." He joined Ray at the exam table and shouted for additional assistance through the opened door. "Nurse! I need a nurse in here!"

Two nurses and a curious second doctor entered the exam room. The medical staff instinctively went to the downed man and began treatment.

"What happened to your friend?" The first doctor asked as used his stethoscope to listen to Egon's heart. "I don't care how you got in here, I just need to know what happened!"

One of the nurses had taken Ray's position as Ray hastily explained how Egon had fallen in the subway tunnel and had been impaled on jagged metal. He also informed the doctor that the fall had happened almost four days prior and there was an unfortunate lack of immediate medical attention.

The second doctor made a skilled diagnosis and conferred with the first doctor. "He's suffering from internal hemorrhaging. We need to get into an O.R. now."

"Nurse, call upstairs and let them know of an emergency abdominal trauma coming up."

"Yes doctor." The second nurse used the phone on the wall to make the call.

The first doctor took Ray by the arm and escorted him outside and into the neighboring exam room. "Look, I know who you guys are and I have nothing but respect for everything you've done for the city, so I'm going to let this slide." He helped Ray to sit on the exam table so he could tend to his leg. "But I'm going to need to put something down on file. Be honest with me, I'm going to help you and your friend."

Winston, Peter and the maintenance worker escaped the tunnels and found themselves up on the streets of the city. The previously stone citizens were stunned by the night sky overhead and several people were beginning to panic.

"We should get over to the hospital." Peter suggested. "There's going to be mass hysteria and confusion."

"Yeah, you're right. Let's not deal with Peck just yet."

"I stand corrected, THAT is the best idea you've had all night!"

Trying to keep a low profile the two Ghostbusters made there way from the tunnels and back to the hospital. Large groups of people were swarming the streets in utter confusion. No one had any recollection of being turned to stone or of the time they spent encased in their stone prisons. The hospital staff were overwhelmed with frightened people who were seeking answers, as well as taking care of their star patients.

After three hours of questions by the police and other city officials Ray was shown to the waiting room where Peter and Winston were sitting quietly. Ray limped into the room on a pair of crutches, his leg encased in a protective cast.

"It worked!" Ray blatantly observed as he eased himself down into a chair beside Winston.

"Yeah, and not a moment too soon."

"How's Egon?"

Peter looked down at his watch and sighed. "Well, according to Dr. Hansen Egon is suffering from internal hemorrhaging, vascular damage in his abdominal cavity and severe blood loss. He's been in surgery before we even arrived about three hours ago and we only had the one update." Peter leaned forward against his knees. "We also called the firehouse to check in on Janine. She, like everyone else, is a little pissed off about the whole thing but is otherwise alright."

Ray gave Winston an unsure glance before posing a new question to Peter. "What about P.C.o.C. and Peck? What do they-"

"Don't know." Peter interjected firmly. "Don't care. Not my problem right now." Closing his eyes he let his head bow. "I'm so tired..."

After spending three nights in the hospital Egon was released into the care of the other Ghostbusters. The four returned to the firehouse and reluctantly dealt with the repercussions of the ghosts unorthodox attack in the form red tape and files of paperwork courtesy of Walter Peck. Fortunately Winston's knowledge of the law, thanks to night school and a lot of patience, made him an invaluable asset when it came to dealing with Peck and his massive ego.

While Winston was downtown giving an official report on the extraordinary incident Janine volunteered to handle the paperwork, not only to ensure it was filed correctly and to avoid another visit from Peck, but it kept her staying in the firehouse longer than usual which gave her the opportunity to check in on Egon as often as possible.

Ray had trouble getting from the first floor to the second but since he wasn't going to be cleared for calls for another six weeks his sluggish movements didn't bother him too much. In fact he spent his additional free time researching the ghost and the events that resulted from its attack.

"Get this Egon," Ray was stretched out on his bed across from Egon's. "there's an old Celtic legend that states that it's possible for a living being to be transformed into an inanimate object by a spectral entity; and that while transformed the living being's sense of consciousness will be subdued but the emotions and are still active through the mere act that the soul is in tact while being contained within said inanimate object."

Egon had been researching the powerful energy levels exhibited by the ghost and determined that Ray's research had a correlation to the ghost and the events that plagued the city for four days. "The trapped soul would explain the groans of pain heard from the statues. It would also explain the hostile activity displayed as a trapped soul would become confused and enraged by its supernatural imprisonment."

"But why did the statues only move around at night?"

"Perhaps it ties in with the 'Devil's hour' as paranormal activity has been documented to increase during the night."

"I guess." Ray closed his book and set it down on the table beside his bed. "I just wish we could figure out where the ghost came from! That's the real question."

"I've been meaning to talk to you about that Ray, from the chronicled readings of the psychokinetic energy in the area I fear something big is on the horizon."

"When you say 'big'," Peter had casually strolled into the bunk room and sat down on his own bed beside Egon's. "how big do you mean exactly Spengz? On a scale of Janine to Stay Puft, how big are we talking here?"

Egon lowered his eyes and closed the file with the data with a quick 'flip'. "Imagine an event that would put a duel between Gozer and Tiamat to shame and then amplify it with the full extent of psychokinetic energy that has accumulated over the planet since the dawn of man."

"So... Big." Peter's brow arched. "Do you have a time table there Spengz? I'm going to want to update my life insurance."

"Time? I can't be entirely certain." Egon admitted. "But soon."

**-The End**


End file.
